Just Another Pawn - Endurance
by JKrlin
Summary: CT-4214 is a clone trooper of the 501st Legion. He serves with his oldest brother, Cypher, and directly under Captain Rex. Inadvertently, he ends up working closely with Commander Ahsoka Tano. 4214 wishes he could turn back time, just so he can spend more time with his clone brothers. Alas, the Mandalorian in him wants to make sure his family, old and new, just make it out alive.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) Well, this here is a revised version of my previous story, _Just Another Pawn_. ****I began the story as a medium to practice writing storylines and to come to terms with Karen Traviss's separation from the Star Wars franchise. I only had a vague idea when starting my tale, and then I just came up with a few things as I went along, with _Mandalore the freedom_ giving me great tips and suggestions. I discontinued the original version because of personal issues I was going through at the time. **

**As it is now, I wish to rewrite this story as I see fit. Though it will likely be more of the same, I have an actual outline now and want to refine my execution in some areas.**

 **Special thanks to _ahsoka1996_ for some advice given and to _Arm Chair General_ for a very in-depth review given for the original _Just Another Pawn._**

 **X**

 **THEN**

 _ **Kamino**_

"Glory!" so the song said. "One indomitable heart, Brothers all. We, the wrath of Coruscant, Brothers all. And glory, eternal glory. We shall bear its weight together. Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all."

A number of people would probably disagree, but in the honest opinion of CT-4214, the chant was a load of _osik_. Or a load of crap, if you preferred Olden Basic.

He and every single other clone were fed the same images of a singular sprawling city. Skyscrapers went beyond the horizon while steady streams of vehicles moved amongst the towering structures. Other pictures showed an ornate fortress at the center of all of it. The Senate, it was called, with platforms that levitated where all the important decisions were made. Clone troopers were supposed to protect all of these bigshots, to be the "wrath of Coruscant."

But none of the clones have even met any of those politicians. None of them have ever tasted the cool air of Coruscant's atmosphere. None of them can understand why there wasn't already a military to protect the planet. All they could comprehend were the pictures and the captions and how things were _supposed_ to be. The only thing to compare it all to was the dull rain and oceans Kamino was well-known for.

Ever since CT-4214 was able to discern thought and feeling, ever since he could consciously open his eyes and breathe outside of that dark, insufferable tank, he couldn't let go that first taste of life.

His first memory was of a cold prison, and it hasn't changed by much.

Nevertheless, he continued to sing the song, _Vode An_ , in his head as he walked the empty halls of Tipoca City. There was a dramatic feel to it, after all. If there was one thing he liked about this whole Grand Army of the Republic business, it was their kick-ass theme music.

As CT-4214 entered the refresher, his humming paused as he listened to the noise of swishing water. No one was at the sinks. The sound was coming from one of the stalls. The clone went prone and did a quick sweep under each stall's door. A pair of feet, too small for a teenager or adult, was pressing hard against the smooth floor behind one door. Whoever it was, he must be trying to pull something out of the latrine with how his feet were moving. A puddle of water was building right beside him.

Opening the stall, CT-4214 let the sight of a boy no more than ten years old struggling to free his head out of the toilet. After a quick internal debate, 4214 gave a sigh and a headshake.

" _Bob'ika_ , you alright?"

Unintelligible muttering was the reply. However, if he was muttering and not choking, that meant he wasn't drowning, which was a good sign.

 _Why am I always the one getting myself into these situations?_

With a little effort and a little humility on Little Boba's part, CT-4214 managed to pull the younger clone out. Boba Fett spat out some residual toilet water, coughing a little before shoving past 4214 to get to the sink. He rinsed his face, practically submerged as he let the water flow all over his cranium.

"Are you okay, sir?" the elder clone asked, handing the boy some paper towels from a nearby dispenser. "What happened?"

"It was nothing," Boba snapped. He rubbed the towels hard against his skin, leaving irritable red marks. "It was just Ordo and the Nulls being a bunch of _shab_ –" Boba abruptly paused as he dried himself, turning away.

"Taun We trying to get you to tone down the language?"

"Yeah," the kid said with a scowl. Give it another ten years, and that frown would be the spitting image of his _buir_. Jango Fett would be proud of his son. "Thanks for the help, Pawn."

CT-4214, Pawn, lightly pushed Boba a step toward the door. "Better get to bed soon, _Bob'ika_. You'll need to get up bright and early if you want to plot your revenge on those Nulls."

The Fett heir neglected to say anything back, probably too embarrassed or too pissed at the Null ARCs to respond. Pawn just gave another reassuring pat on the back before he walked out through the door way.

Next time Pawn ran into Ordo during their off-hours, he's going to have to sucker punch the Null or something. Just because Sergeant Skirata gave those ARCs special treatment doesn't mean they could bully Boba like that.

Pawn made his way back to his regiment's barracks, back to the series of cramped pods stacked in columns and rows that were only just big enough to fit your average sized clone trooper. CT-4813, Pawn's squad mate, made a joke once about them all being action figures kept in mint condition. Clone Sergeant Dice just told the two to wait till they were finally deployed into battle. Then they'll get to all dirtied up and experience some real action. Pawn couldn't wait.

Coming into the dimly lit barracks, cold as always, Pawn was surprised to see a certain malformed clone still awake. "99," Pawn greeted with a nod. "Why are you still up?"

99, hunched back and wrinkled skin and all, turned away from the datapad he was using and smiled goodheartedly at his brother. "Hey, Pawn. Just finishing up some chores."

"Need any help?" _Guy like you needs your rest_.

"Nah, it's fine. These old bones need some exercise anyway." Pawn rolled his eyes as 99 continued to smile. "Soixante Squad is moving out of Tipoca City tomorrow, going to the garrison south again, right?"

"Yes sir." Pawn approached the ladder to his sleeping cot. 99 gave a slap against the trooper's back.

"No need to be so formal, Pawn. Just try to get some sleep tonight. You and everyone else is going to be pretty busy with the move and everything."

"I know, I know," Pawn waved off. He stopped for a moment as he reached his cot, swerving his head to glance at 99. The man still wore his benign smile, reassuring no matter what the situation. "You keep trekking on, soldier. Stay alive until we get back."

99 laughed. It'd be the last time Pawn would hear that raspy but powerful laugh in the foreseeable future. "You too, Pawn," he said, "you too."

Forget "wrath of Coruscant." _Vode an_ , brothers all; that is what mattered.

X

 **NOW**

 _ **Christophsis**_

A shove to the shoulder brought him back to reality. "Pawn, you ready?"

He turned to the inquiring clone, their voices kept low. "Yeah, Jester, just reminiscing about Kamino."

Jester chuckled. "Now why are you dreaming about that _shab_ of a place? Gotta stay focused on the job, _vod_ , or Slick will have your hide."

Pawn sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You just focus on keeping your gun clean."

"Hey," Jester responded defensively, "I thought you'd stop teasing me about that."

"I've already asked Slick about again."

"Just shut up."

Squad Fourteen – dreadfully unoriginal name, in Pawn's opinion – quietly conversed with each other in the office room. Most of the clone squad was on their feet, anxious to get this ambush devised between Generals Kenobi and Skywalker underway. Cody and his team were at the skyscraper across from Squad Fourteen's, scouting the incoming droids on the bridge below.

"Lay off him, _vod_ ," CT-0612, Cypher, nudged Pawn. "Jester built that blaster all by himself back on Kamino. It takes guts to hold on to that thing for, what, eight years?"

"I'd say it's a sign of psychopathy in the poor boy."

Jester let out a fatigued groan and wandered off from the two as Pawn smiled at his reaction.

Pawn glanced at Livewire. He was standing near the boarded up window with General Skywalker and Captain Rex. Livewire was doing calibrations with the cannon the squad had brought up, locked and loaded to rain hell down on those clankers. But, if Pawn and Cypher had their way, he'd have been standing tall with the rest of their brothers instead of isolating himself with extraneous work. Livewire was never the same after Geonosis.

"Stow the chatter, gentlemen," Rex spoke up. Immediately, all side conversations ceased. "Get ready, men. Tinnies are almost here." Pawn straightened his back and tightened his grip on his DC-15A rifle. He, Cypher, and Jester crowded behind Rex and Skywalker. Rex turned to Livewire and the cannon while Skywalker kept his gaze on the droids.

A hand placed itself on Pawn's shoulder. He turned to see Slick's unhelmeted face giving him an apprehensive look. "No jokes, Pawn," he ordered sternly. "Chopper's doing his whole 'lone wolf' routine already. I don't need you acting up either."

"Of course, Sergeant!" Pawn responded in a false upbeat tone, sounding almost offended. Slick had other matters to deal with, so he just pointed a finger menacingly at Pawn before turning to the rest of the squad.

"Insubordination again, Private?"

Internally, Pawn sighed. He made eye contact with Rex. "A sense of humor does not constitute as insubordination, sir." The Captain gave his own copyrighted brand of a lecturing tone.

"I have to agree with Pawn," Skywalker chimed in, smiling at him in the corner of his eye. "Obi-Wan might think, otherwise, but in my opinion –"

Skywalker abruptly shut his mouth. The clones watched as the Jedi faced the glass window. They followed his stare and saw the telltale signs of laser bolt discharge and a twirling lightsaber in the building across.

 _Ah,_ shab, _what the hell happened?_ Pawn thought.

Skywalker quickly went to his communicator. "Obi-Wan, what's going on?"

"We're cut off," was the reply. Gunfire echoed, as did the sounds of droid dismemberment. "The droids are on to us."

The General cursed. "Gunship, come in. Hawk, I need an evac on the south tower."

"South tower?" Rex said slowly in confusion. "We're in the north."

Skywalker smirked as he activated his lightsaber. "Not for long." He sliced upon the glass window, using the almighty, mystical power of the Force to clear away the debris. "Everyone, fire your cables."

You get used to these kind of high-risk tactics when you work with such a daring, reckless commanding officer like Skywalker, Pawn mused as he and two other clones used their rifles to fire their cables across. The adrenaline and the focus on getting out of these situations alive tend to distract you from the incredulity of those tactics. It was a good thing those Mandalorians trained the troops to get used to so much stress.

During the slide along the cables to the opposite building, the battle droids below opened fire on them. Thank God they were bad shots, but amid the gunshots and wind pushing against Pawn's visor, he heard a scream from behind him. That scream quickly reduced in volume, so the screamer must have lost his grip and was falling to the ground.

 _Damn it all. Damn it. Gonna have to add another name to the list_.

The General destroyed another glass wall as they regrouped with Kenobi's team, and the clones got to do what they were best at; blasting tinnies into a scrap pile.

Pawn took cover behind an ammo crate. He did a quick headcount of Commander Cody's men. Looked like a good three quarters of them were still alive. Good. Great. Pawn scanned Squad Fourteen and –

 _There's Cypher, Slick, Chopper… Jester, Punch, Sketch… Gus – wounded but alive, thank the Force. But…_

The heat and screams of blaster fire and soldiers getting shot at jumpstarted Pawn's senses. He went on autopilot, following the muscle memory of taking cover, shooting hostiles, and retreating into the elevators.

 _Livewire. It was Livewire who got fell out there. Livewire's dead._

He couldn't dwell on that, of course, not yet. Cypher was still alive. So was Rex, Slick, and the others. Pawn had to stay focused on making sure they didn't get shot to death.

" _Krif!_ "

They made it to the roof, for the gunship to get them the out. The droids had caught up, and Cypher was just shot in the elbow. He dropped his rifle as he clutched his arm. Acting fast, Pawn grabbed his brother's shoulder and pulled him back, ducking under a blaster bolt from a tactical droid. Cypher stayed right behind Pawn, drawing his sidearm to let off a few potshots.

When Hawk finally arrived, Cypher jumped into the larty. Everyone followed, though Pawn did see Chopper tearing off the tactical droid's head. A unique specimen for Chopper's secret hobby, but Pawn was too busy looking over Cypher's arm to give a discreet comment. Kix, the best medic the 501st Legion had, examined Cypher's injury.

"He won't be losing the arm," Kix reassured. "He'll live."

But from the look of things, nine clones died today. Ten, ten when Pawn thought of Livewire.

It was time to add more names to the list.

X

"You sure he's okay?"

"For the last time, yes Pawn. He will make a full recovery. The med-droid should be done soon, so Cypher'll probably just head back to the barracks and rest his arm. You should think about taking a page out of his book, y'know, and just relax."

Pawn sighed as he took another bite from his meal. Once they were back at HQ, Pawn had stuck to Cypher like glue. Unfortunately, Kix sent him away from the medbay. The place was crowded enough as it was. So, Pawn joined Kix at the mess hall an hour or two later to get an update on Cypher.

"Did you see the KIA list?" Pawn suddenly asked. Kix was taken aback at the change in topic but let his muscles grow lax after a moment.

"Yeah," Kix answered. "Yeah… I saw the list. Good men, all of them."

Pawn stared at his food, nostalgically bland and colorless. "Cypher doesn't know that Livewire's dead, does he?"

"No, he doesn't." The medic picked a spork at his tray.

"I want to be the one to tell him, once he's out of the medbay."

Kix was just about as numb as Pawn right now, so he simply nodded slowly at Pawn's declaration. "Alright, then." He glanced at the clock overhead on the wall. "Cypher should have been released by now. He might be back in his barracks."

Pawn stood up. "Thanks, Kix." He picked up his plate and tossed it to a janitorial droid on his way out.

He found Cypher lying in bed at Squad Fourteen's barracks. He was reading something off a datapad, his right arm wrapped in bandages. Slick was in the corner, on his terminal, probably looking over today's battle reports.

"Hey, _ner_ _vod_."

Cypher looked up and smiled. "Hey, Pawn! Thanks for the help back there. I didn't expect a tactical droid coming out to fight us."

"Uh…" Pawn coughed into his fist to get rid of the croak in his voice. "Yeah, you sure showed them."

" _We_ sure showed them. Did you see what Chopper did? Crazy _di'kut_." Cypher snickered a bit before he put his datapad down. "Speaking of which, where's Livewire? Someone told me he was on patrol duty, but the guy in charge told me that he wasn't."

Pawn didn't answer. Instead, he went to his locker. Sorting through his stuff, he brought out his own personal datapad. When he turned around, Cypher had turned pale.

"Cyph'ika," Pawn tried to say as delicately as he could, but it hardly had any effect. "Livewire… he didn't make it."

For a long time, no one said anything. Slick quickly slid out of the room, not wanting to intrude in this private moment. Pawn looked on with emotionless brown eyes, watching his brother slowly curl up. Cypher started crying, but the tears didn't last too long. For a while, all you could hear was soft whimpering discreetly enveloping the room.

Pawn wanted to scream, to burn the whole planet to the ground. He wanted to join Cypher in his mourning, to cry his heart out. Everyone in their squad from Kamino, the brothers they grew up with, was dead. There weren't any bodies recovered to grieve over. All they ever got was a number on a list. A digital list that gave their number, a _bloody number on a list that couldn't even acknowledge their_ _names_. In an army of clones, of a single face copied a million times, they were all just numbers, just like droids. And just like droids, no one cared about faceless logistical numbers.

No one cared about them. No one except the people who knew the truth. No one except each other.

He knows he was cheated, that he was given dreams of greatness when it was all a façade to inspire loyalty. He was born to die for people who didn't even know he existed until a couple of months ago. Born to die for the liberty of the Republic, a government whose citizens don't have the stones to fight for themselves. The bottom line was that Pawn and every other clone trooper was a slave, and he wanted to make the galaxy pay for putting him and his brothers through this war.

But if he tried to make everything burn, that would make one less clone looking out for his _vode_. And in this life, _aliit,_ family, was something you never forsake.

Cypher seemed to have cried himself to sleep. Pawn sat back in his bed and went through his list, adding the names of the recently deceased. He sat there and read each name aloud but not loud enough to wake his brother. He made himself say each name, imagined each face, and remembered the last time he saw each person.

Livewire tried his hardest to sleep away the pain. That was how he dealt with it. Pawn didn't want to do that. He couldn't let himself forget. _Mando'ad draar digu._

X

Pawn slowly awoke to the sound Slick's voice.

"No way they are capable of something like this."

As the volume of more voices began to spread in the room, Pawn sat up. The rest of the platoon had entered, and Captain Rex and Commander Cody were present. Cypher was also awake, looking around, confused. He and Pawn were obviously still distraught over the loss of another brother, but they had to recompose themselves for whatever their commanding officers gathered them for.

Cody began with, "There is a turncoat in our midst. We think it's one of you."

A part of Pawn immediately thought that was a completely idiotic notion. Another part soon realized Cody was dead serious. _A clone? Betraying his brothers?_ The word "rage" is sufficient enough to illustrate what Pawn felt.

The commanders walked up to Jester first. _No, he wouldn't go rogue. He doesn't have the confidence to pull of what the Captain just described._

Next were Sketch and Punch. _They're always together, watching each other's backs. It'd be hard to believe if they went against their brothers. Then again, it's hard to think of_ any _clone betraying their brothers._

Then came Gus. _He and Cypher were in the infirmary. They have a proper alibi, nothing to worry about them._

The Captain approached Pawn. "So where were you, 4214?" Rex nowadays rarely addressed Pawn by anything other than his rank or number. Not like Pawn cared how the Captain addressed his brothers, anyway.

"I was in the mess, eating with Kix," Pawn spoke slowly, reining in the emotional rollercoaster he had gone through earlier that day. "Later, I came here to talk with Cypher. Afterwards, I fell asleep."

Slick nodded. "I can vouch for him, sir. I was here when they talked."

While Cody moved on to Chopper, Rex still held his suspicious stare. Understandably so. Pawn had a reputation for being unpredictable, and that was a trait Rex knew too well of. It wasn't long till he joined the Commander, however.

 _Chopper isn't a spy. He'd never hurt his brothers. All of his hate is for the Seppies. He would never help them._ Unfortunately, the situation quickly escalated when he revealed his little pet project. Everyone soon surrounded him, but Cypher and Pawn stayed back. The pair already knew about the fingers, but anything they say wouldn't do much to prove Chopper's loyalty at this point. Slick was already trying to placate Chopper from his defensiveness. Slick had to know Chopper was still a brother despite his disobedience at times, though, right?

"Sergeant," Cody said to Slick, "what did you mean 'till the Jedi come back'? How did you know that the Jedi were gone?"

"… I really wish you hadn't noticed that, sir." A haymaker, a flurry of punches, and Slick was out of the door. The commanders ran after him while the rest of the squad stood there, mesmerized. Pawn went on autopilot again, grabbing his helmet and DC-17 sidearm.

"We need to spread the word: Slick's the turncoat." He gave one last look at his squad mates, jaws hanging, before exiting. "Get moving!"

 _Why would Slick betray us? Sure, he can be a piece of_ osik _every now and then, but he never leaves a man behind. What reason would he have to start killing his brothers?_

 _Why the hell did he have to get Livewire killed?_

 _Think Pawn. Think like Slick. You're out numbered, you're outgunned, the only chance you have of getting out alive is stealing a gunship._

 _The commanders would expect that. You'll set a trap for them. Your next best bet is contacting your Seppie friends for transport. If you're out to sabotage the mission, you'll probably destroy the weapons depot, the heavy weapons. We'll be in disarray, and you can discreetly make your way out._

 _To get a call out, you'll need a terminal._

 _No one should be in the Command Center at this hour aside from the commanding officers, and they're out looking for you._

Slick was opening an air vent at the Center when Pawn entered and trained his pistol at him. "Don't you move." Slick climbed down and raised his hands in surrender, scowl prominent. "Turn around, hands on your head." Slick turned his back to Pawn and complied. "Why'd you do it, Slick?"

The Sergeant laughed. He laughed a cold-hearted, humorless laugh. "We're all just blindly following orders, and for what? I know you know why, yet you're still here."

"This isn't about me. It's about –"

"– clones, Pawn. It's about clones. We're treated like cannon fodder - no we _are_ cannon fodder. At least if I do this, I'll get something out of all of the suffering I had to go through."

"What was your plan? Become a traitor for some Separatist cash and run off? If you do this – what you've done Slick is kill clones, our _vode_!"

Before Slick could respond, an explosion shook the building. Slick took the chance to tackle Pawn. They fought for control over Pawn's weapon, firing off stray shots into the air, but it was ultimately thrown to the side. Slick head butted Pawn and ran for the blaster. However, Pawn grabbed Slick's leg and he fell to the ground. Pawn climbed over Slick's fallen form and started punching. Slick could do nothing more than try to block his attacks.

"I know you, Pawn," Slick said between jabs. "You know you would have done the same."

"I'd never betray my brothers," Pawn shrieked before grunting out, "unlike you."

"Really?" Slick was hit in the jaw but continued his rant. "If Cypher wasn't here, would you really stay and keep on fighting? When he dies, you'll have nothing left." Pawn hit his left eye. "I love my brothers, but the Jedi make us throw our lives away every single _kriffing_ day. I'm fighting for something no clones have. Freedom!"

By this point, Pawn had stopped listening. Slick killed Livewire. Slick killed Livewire, Tran, Dog, and Cones. He killed them. He killed them so that he could walk away from this whole war.

It wasn't fair.

Someone grabbed his wrist. Pawn looked up and saw that it was Rex. His normally focused, determined eyes were replaced with concern and – something else. He was saying something, but Pawn was deaf to any noise except to the sound of his own breathing. Rex tried to pull him up, but Pawn went back to punching Slick. When did his sergeant – traitor, _dar'manda_ sergeant – get so bruised and bloodied? How long had Pawn been at this?

Pawn was suddenly slugged across the face. He fell off Slick's body. Pawn started crawling back, but two pairs of hands held him back. Rex was joined by Cody, and the two dragged him away. He tried resisting, but he was hit again. After the fourth hit, Pawn finally calmed down. He only achieved some level of calmness by being knocked out.

The nightmares came again, but Pawn would endure, he would survive.

He always did.


	2. Chapter 2

**NOW**

 _ **Christophsis**_

Going to sleep wasn't all that hard. Training on Kamino taught you how to just knock yourself out when you hit the hay. Close your eyes and relinquish all feeling in just a few seconds. It never worked instantaneously, of course. Stress and adrenaline can't be turned off on a dime. Still, a disconnection to reality helps quicken the slumber.

Dreams? Dreams were worthless. Fantasies. Beautiful nightmares.

On the other hand, waking up was like a snap of the fingers. It was an abrupt transition from darkness to your eyes wide open. Imagine floating in space in zero gravity, cold and unfeeling as you slowly drifted along. And then – comes the snap. Your feet suddenly hit a foundation, as if you were a game piece plucked by a giant hand and placed down on the playing board. Your heart clenches and skips a beat, forcing yourself to awaken.

The last item on the list, waking up, always punched Pawn right in the gut.

When he came to, Pawn refused to open his eyes. His body lay supine, still wearing his bodysuit and armor. The air was cold but familiar, the same as the squad's quarters. Stretching his fingers or his cheekbones brought some slight aching, and the events of the day before started spiraling back.

 _Slick killed Livewire. That's the sum of it._

Pawn placed a hand softly against his face. A bandage was plastered under his left eye. He tore it off and flicked it to his side. A disgusted groan was heard afterward. Pawn opened his eyes to see Captain Rex flinging the plaster off the pauldron over his shoulder. The exit door hissed shut. Rex's frown did not dissipate when he and Pawn made eye contact.

"4214," Rex enunciated slowly as he took a step forward, "I –"

"Where's Slick?" Pawn interrupted, plopping onto his feet. He wobbled a bit but regained his footing in an instant.

Rex put up his hands in an effort to placate Pawn. "He's waiting for his court-martial. We have him on 24-hour watch…. So," Rex pushed Pawn forcefully back to sit on his bunk bed, "he won't be going anywhere. He'll get what's coming to him, trust me."

Pawn grimaced, giving Rex a sideways glance. The good captain was no doubt just as upset as Pawn about Slick. Good men died because of Squad Fourteen's Sergeant, and who was in charge of assigning NCOs among Torrent Company?

"Good job taking in Slick," Rex remarked calmly, removing his hand from Pawn's person. "His face is so bruised that it'll take a week's worth of bacta just so he can open his eyes." There was an unspoken question in Rex's statement, especially with the way he was glowering.

"Slick ain't complaining, is he?" Pawn stood up, stretching his arms out to alleviate the soreness. "I remember when we had one of those misfire episodes on Kamino. Slick spent two months in the medbay getting his pretty boy face patched up. Shame he –"

"Don't give me that _osik_. Be serious. If Cody and I came a second later, you would have killed Slick."

"Would that have mattered?" Pawn's helmet was on the bed across from his. He moved to pick it up and examined it. "He got enough of us killed, didn't he? A clone killing him, then we have poetic justice and all that."

Just as Pawn was putting his helmet on, Rex gruffly pushed him against the wall. Rex's arm pressing against Pawn kept the trooper from shoving his way free.

"Captain?!"

"Be straight with me, Pawn," Rex muttered, eyes never wavering while Pawn kept reeling his head back and forth. "Moral's down with Slick turning traitor, and we have droids threatening to overrun the city. I know Livewire… Livewire's gone, but I need you to stay focused. No more outbursts. Can I rely on you or do I have to send you back on maintenance duty?"

Pawn stopped squirming, his voice lowering an octave to match Rex's. "Where's Cypher?"

"… With the rest of your squad, waiting for orders."

"Orders." That's what it always came down to. As everything comes crashing down all around you, you follow orders, or you don't, and you deal with the consequences. "I'll follow your orders… Captain. You can count on me."

Their stare lasted a moment longer before Rex gave a vigorous nod. He took a step back, eyes still tense, giving Pawn room to breathe.

Rex's voice returned to a normal level. "Good. Your squad's at the south exit. Get you gear and meet up with them." He turned to leave but gave Pawn one final look. "There's going to be some intense fighting for the next few days. If you let yourself slip like you did with Slick, remember that you'll put your own brothers at risk. Try not to let that happen." Then he walked out.

Before leaving, Pawn looked through his locker. His datapad was still there. Opening up the list, he scrolled down until he found Livewire's name. Underneath, Pawn typed out Slick's name, pressing each button one at a time.

 _Slick was a slithery bastard, but a man of his word. He makes a promise, he makes good on it, no matter what._

Pawn tossed the datapad back into the locker.

 _Just forget about Slick. Like Rex said, focus. Focus on keeping as many as men as you can alive._ _Make the Seps pay. Focus on taking them out._

 _Mourn Livewire later. Just a little bit later. There's time for that later._

 _Look out for Cypher, no matter what._

X

 _ **Two days later…**_

"Is it dead?"

"Yes, it's dead, Jester. Get over here already."

Jester kicked the fallen Tri-Droid; its multiple legs strewn messily; before moving to join where Pawn was beckoning for him. Gus was lying on a stretcher, waiting patiently to be carried back to the medical tent. A ship flew over their heads and landed behind friendly lines. Reinforcements, hopefully.

The highway of classic Christophsis mint and seafoam colors was littered with the corpses of battle droids and clone troopers. Rifles were scattered about, along with some debris collapsed from the skyscrapers surrounding the battlefield. At the moment, the clankers were retreating, leaving the clones to pick up the pieces.

As Jester walked away from the giant droid, Pawn looked to the rest of his squad. Cypher and Sketch were standing near Punch, Kix kneeling over him. The squad had equipped jetpacks to assist General Skywalker in disabling the Tri-Droids, but Punch had a nasty fall and couldn't move his legs. Rex commed Kix to take a look before the Captain regrouped with the Generals.

Chopper was allowed to remain in the fight despite his illegal arts and crafts project. Nevertheless, his dead body was currently buried under the Tri-Droid's, making the whole revelation of his battle droid finger necklace pointless.

 _Yeah, Chopper definitely was a "lone wolf." Preferred to get things done his way, but Slick more often than not went against him. Training sergeants back on Kamino always kicked Chopper's_ shebs _for it._

Just when Jester and Pawn were at a steady pace bringing Gus down the highway, Cypher radioed in on their squad comm. "Punch is dead. Blaster shot through his shoulder blade. We're bringing him in now."

Cypher tears had dried early on. Rex wasn't lying about the intense fighting. Practically nonstop for two days, so Cypher had to toughen up quick. Consequently, Cypher had been very, very quiet, with no energy to his voice. When the droids were in retreat, he just stood there for a solid minute, staring at all of the bodies.

They needed to win this battle, soon. The more time it took for the Republic to retake the planet, the less time there was for Pawn to talk to Cypher.

Kix gave Squad Fourteen a genuine promise to get Gus back on his feet by the end of the week before bringing him into the medical tent. Sketch asked to be alone with Punch for a little bit. Cypher, Jester, and Pawn were considering heading back to retrieve Chopper's body when Rex walked up to them.

" _Vode_ , you still able?" he asked with his helmet under his arm.

"Still ready to fight, Captain," Jester answered, straightening his back. Cypher and Pawn, long drained of such youthful liveliness for today, just sat down on an ammo crate. Rex trained his eyes on them the moment they even made the motion to sit. His eyes could have softened a fraction, or that could have been Pawn's sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on him.

"That's good. I want you three to follow the generals and greet the transport, help out any way you can." Without waiting for an affirmative, Rex spun around and went on his way. He joined another group of clones, Coric's squad, and led them off the highway.

The transport in question was just landing, right in the middle of the road. The three troopers slung their blasters over their shoulders and jogged to catch up with General Kenobi and General Skywalker, the pair already strolling along toward the ship.

Pawn liked it when he was assigned to be near the Jedi. He was taught that Jedi were supposed to be these all-knowing, serene monks. However, Kenobi and Skywalker always bickered about something or other, be it piloting skills or even their food preferences. It was a nice little culture shock to experience.

The trio of white-clad soldiers marched right behind the Jedi. The generals seemed to be having another debate over the arrival of Kenobi's new apprentice.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to bring a Padawan learner into all this?" Skywalker asked.

"I spoke to Master Yoda," Kenobi responded. "You should put in a request for one as well. You'd make a good teacher."

 _We don't need two untrained, undisciplined children here. At best, they'll slice up some more droids. At worst, they'll get people killed._ Despite these lingering thoughts, Pawn kept quiet. Lack of military training aside, any Force-sensitive was supposed to be useful on the warfront, so said the flash training. Thus, Pawn'll take what he can get.

The transport's door opened up. Walking out from the shadows was a Togruta girl… and a young one at that. Stripped lekku and dangling lightsaber were prominent, as was the orange skin around her upper body.

 _Where's her armor? She doesn't even have a robe, or, anything! What are the Jedi thinking of sending a little girl to assist us?_

Ahsoka Tano, she introduced herself as. What a sweet name.

 _At least there's only one of them._

"Cypher," Skywalker said, kicking Pawn's mind back to reality, "you and Jester help unload what supplies the ship brought. Pawn, come with us, help make sure that the comm system stays stabilized."

"Yes sir." Pawn motioned his squad mates to do as asked. Jester gave an animated nod, but Cypher went on wordlessly. Despite how much Pawn wanted to speak with him, Pawn turned and trailed behind the three Force users. Orders came first, after all.

After a bit wirework and a little assistance from R2-D2, the holo-image of a clone naval officer finally materialized over the holoprojecter. Pawn continued fiddling with the wires while the Jedi had their conversation. However, it was cut short when Master Yoda's hologram fizzled out. General Skywalker shot a look to Pawn. "There's nothing wrong on our side, sir," was the defensive reply. The Jedi began to converse with one another while Pawn attempted to reestablish a steady signal.

"Pawn," the younger General said quietly with an edge to his voice, "let's check up with Rex on the lookout posts." Pawn raised himself, picked up his rifle, and complied.

"Better take her with you," Kenobi called from behind. Skywalker paused momentarily in his steps before moving on. Pawn decided to greet the young one.

"Ma'am, I am CT-4214, or Pawn, if you'd like."

She smiled goodheartedly. "I'm Ahsoka. Nice to meet you, Pawn."

"If there's anything you need," Pawn continued as politely as he could without questioning Tano's choice of attire, "please let me know."

 _Sure hope you have_ some _common sense and don't get anyone killed,_ Commander _. Still can't believe fourteen-year-olds outrank even white jobs._

They strolled off the highway, taking a side path and staircase up one of the adjoining buildings. The central lookout post was on a balcony at said building. As they walked, Skywalker gave the impression that he was sulking over something, if the way he arched his back and closed his fists were any indication. Tano appeared intrigued by her surroundings but silent. Pawn guessed Tano annoyed the General somehow. The clone chalked that up as a point against her. Should she prove useful in the oncoming battle, perhaps he'll retract that point.

When they caught up to the Captain, Skywalker, all business, asked, "What's the status, Rex?"

"Fine, sir, for now, but the droids are gearing up for another assault." Rex immediately noticed Tano looking about the troopers close by that were scoping out the city. "Who's the youngling?"

She snapped back cheekily, fists at her hips as she leaned forward. "I'm Master Skywalker's _Padawan_. The name's Ahsoka Tano."

Perplexed, Rex turned to Pawn, who could only shrug helplessly. Then he faced Skywalker. "Sir, I thought you said you'd never have a Padawan."

"There's been a mix-up," Skywalker said dismissively. "The youngling isn't with me."

"Stop calling me that!" Some troopers twisted their heads at the small outburst. "You're stuck with me Skyguy," she finished off with a smirk, "get used to it."

Rex let out a few chuckles and had to cover up his mouth. Pawn grinned at the "Skyguy" nickname. It was better than Coric's "Starkiller" nickname for the General, that's for sure. Some of the troopers to the side chuckled as well. They soon went back to business once the Jedis' comments escalated into a snarky argument.

Tano, Rex, and Pawn eventually found themselves walking next to the row of heavy cannons on the highway: the line that had to be held, or they'd lose the battle. Rex was happy to indulge the girl with her questions while Pawn hung back. As the commanding officers chatted, a concentrated collection of footsteps incited Pawn look over his shoulder. Squad Fourteen approached, sans the dead and wounded and imprisoned.

"Sir," Sketch began. "Is that General Kenobi's new protégé?"

"Her name's Ahsoka Tano." She waved to the squad before resuming her talk with Rex. "Apparently, she was assigned to Skywalker instead by Master Yoda himself."

Jester nearly dropped his gun. "Master Yoda? Himself? Really?"

Cypher sighed. "Jester, stop being such a fanboy already. With the war going as it is, and how high-ranking Yoda is, I doubt you'll ever get to meet him again."

"You weren't there when I met him, Cypher. If it weren't for him, my squad would have been crushed back on Geonosis."

"Lucky you," was Cypher's curt response.

Before Pawn could intervene, a crimson color appeared in the corner of his eye. He craned his neck and saw a ray shield in the shape of a hemisphere materialize. Slowly but surely, it was growing in size. Pawn retrieved his binoculars from his belt and observed the enemy tanks on the other side of the highway making their way for another assault.

 _Another wave. Already. Damn it. At this rate, we need a miracle to save our_ shebs.

X

 _ **Later…**_

"Captain Rex," Pawn pressed his comm link, "We've set the mines and are retreating back to the buildings."

"Good. Get back here ASAP."

"Copy that. Pawn out."

"That shield's getting awfully close, _ner vod_."

"That's' why we're running back now, Jester. Stay calm and we'll all pull through this."

When they arrived to the building where their unit was hidden, a clone ushered them inside. It was Sergeant Coric. "Rex and the General are upstairs with Kix's team. They'll rappel down as we give suppressing fire. They'll strike hard, strike fast, and then disappear into the shadows."

"Like from a vid you once saw, right?" Pawn sarcastically asked.

"Yup. I think you saw it, too. It was called –" An explosion prevented him from sharing the movie title. The droids were marching virtually right on top of them. Pawn's squad took positions behind the front entrance. Pawn crouched and picked his targets. It was always a plus when the tinnies walked in straight lines; made things easier to shoot. Unfortunately, there was an overwhelming amount of Super Battle Droids. Rex had to order a tactical retreat.

Moving past the crowded, broken infrastructure, Pawn inadvertently ran head-first into the back of one of the SBDs. The combat robot turned around and grabbed Pawn's neck, choking him. He drew his sidearm, but it was knocked away. As the oxygen stopped making progress down his throat, he tried kicking the SBD, but the droid stood firm.

Luckily, General Kenobi swooped in and cut the droid in half. A trooper amid the crowd suddenly appeared and helped Pawn back up as the clones continued back to the heavy cannons.

Rex contacted Kenobi's second in command. "Cody, get some men on those turrets. The droids are closing in." As they were running, Pawn snuck a glance back. Kenobi was surrounded, droids all around him, but Rex was yelling for everyone on the comm to retreat.

While on their way back behind one of their improvised barricades, Sketch suddenly fell forward. _Shab._ Smoke floated from a blaster wound on his backside. Pawn swerved around his brothers to grab Sketch's body. He dragged his it under cover, the remnants of a Seppie tank, and examined the wound.

 _Another godforsaken name._

Pawn stood behind the tank and unloaded his magazine into the crowd of droids. He vaguely picked his targets, but spraying and praying was the best he could do under the circumstances. However, the droids' slow advance soon overwhelmed the first barricade. Once Pawn was out of ammo, he grabbed Sketch's blaster and ran toward the secondary barricade with everyone else.

He spotted Captain Rex, plopping down on to reload his rifle. "Captain," Pawn leaned back on a ruined piece of scrap next to him, "there's nowhere else left to run. The tanks are almost on us."

"We've got to hold out!" Rex vehemently responded. "We can't let that shield reach the cannons. Keep fighting!" The two popped out of cover alongside the rest of Torrent Company and started returning fire. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until the droids reached the last barricade.

"There's' too many!" someone yelled out. More clones were falling. Too many were dying. Pawn spotted Jester and Cypher. He caught their attention, and they all moved further back, toward the cannons. If they stood their ground now, it wouldn't matter if the Separatist shield was deactivated by then.

A stray grenade detonated to their side. A trooper – _Jester,_ shab, _why Jester?_ _He's just a kid_ – was knocked to his back. He didn't get up.

"Cypher!" Pawn screamed. Cypher had tumbled over Jester's body. Pawn tackled him and shoved him under a fallen support column. Cypher huddled underneath, Pawn wishing to whatever god watching out there to make all of this end.

Finally, the shield began to pull back into itself. Rex immediately shouted, "All cannons, fire on those tanks!" As the enemy forces were pounded on, larties started coming in overhead.

" _Cyph'ika_ ," Pawn spoke on the squad's private helmet comm, "are you okay?" Torrent Company stopped retreating and turned back to chase after the receding tinnies. "You injured?"

"I'm fine... I'm not hurt," Cypher replied. His voice was a step away from shaking. "Where is everyone else? Sketch, Gus..."

"We'll look for them," Pawn reassured him. He grabbed his brother's shoulder, trying to show that he wasn't alone. Neither of them were. "Keep breathing. We'll look for them."

"Will we even find their bodies in this mess?"

"We'll sure as hell try."

 _More names to the list, more bodies to terminate, more brothers to remember._

 _They're not gone, merely marching away._ _Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la._


	3. Chapter 3

**NOW**

The Battle of Teth was turning out to be a complete disaster.

Not even 24 hours after the 501st Legion successfully retook Christophsis, what remained of Torrent Company was dispatched to Teth on some rescue mission for a lost prince. Coric said it sounded very romantic, but most of the troops just wanted to get some rest when they finally got off-planet.

They made an assault on a monastery, a giant castle built on a towering pillar of stone. Taking the monastery wasn't a problem. Yes, there were casualties, like always. Still, the clones formed a decent defensive position on the fortress's east plaza with what little supplies they had. Some miscellaneous crates the droids' left behind and the AT-TEs provided sufficient cover, and it only took General Skywalker and Commander Tano an hour to find the slimeball of a Hutt. If reinforcements had returned on schedule, they would have been home-free.

Enemy reinforcements arrived instead, and they were slaughtering every living thing in sight.

Pawn could barely see through the building's dark shadows and the red and blue blaster bolts moving back and forth, back and forth. What _could_ be discerned was the clanking of the droids' footsteps. It was Christophsis all over again, only their escape options were much more limited.

He ran deeper into the monastery. It was the only way to get out alive. Last resort was to off yourself. Second-to-last was to run.

Fortunately, Pawn wasn't alone.

Kix and Cypher were right by Pawn as they ran through the dimly lit hallways. Sergeant Tanner and two of his subordinates, Perks and Engie, followed close by. Rex gave the order to retreat, but they couldn't find him or anyone else in the chaos.

Pawn glanced back to his datapad. "Turn left!" The congregation of clones followed.

Engie, resisting a limp but keeping up, spoke up. "Where are we even going, Pawn?"

"We didn't trash that caretaker droid for nothing, Engie," Kix reminded him, referring to the only unarmed inhabitant of the castle Torrent Company had encountered. "His data banks mentioned escaping on a ship."

"Exactly," Pawn continued. "Hopefully, it'll be on the landing platform we're heading to now."

"And if there's no ship?"

"I'll buy the first round in _haran_. Turn right." They entered a lift. Pawn hit the controls, and the condensed room went downward. "According to the information we salvaged, the platform is on a rock formation not too far from the monastery. I think this lift should bring us straight to it." The elevator stopped moving, but instead of opening its doors, it started moving forward, probably along some rail like a train.

Tanner reloaded his rifle before training his gaze to Pawn. "General Skywalker, Captain Rex, Sergeant Coric, can you read me?" More silence, though snippets of static sounded off sporadically. "Looks like we're on our own, men. Any idea if Captain Rex escaped in time?"

"No clue," Pawn answered. "Keep trying the comm anyway." The lift gave a hard shake, but everyone managed to stay on their feet. They could faintly hear blaster fire. "Sounds like there's fighting topside." As the lift started moving vertically again, Pawn tried the comm himself. "Captain, General, this is Private Pawn. Do you read me?" More static, but he could hear scraps of radio chatter from clone troopers. Were there any clones still running around in the monastery?

The lift stopped moving, and the doors opened. Nighttime had arrived, the clouds darkening the planet's moon that shone in the purple horizon. The lost troopers stepped onto the platform, elevated on its own mountain column. There were a few crates spread about and, thankfully, a ship at the center.

Tanner exchanged a few hand signals with the rest of the clones. His squad entered the ship to ensure no hostiles were onboard. Cypher plopped onto one of the crates to take a breath, Kix keeping an eye on the elevator as he plundered through another crate. Pawn walked toward the edge of the overhanging platform. In the distance, he could see the monastery with Republic and Separatist fighters dogfighting right above it. A Republic cruiser destroyed a Separatist's, and more cruisers traded fire.

As the Seppie vessel descended into flames, Pawn's eye caught some sort of giant bug flying through the air. It seemed to move up and down erratically in a path heading toward the platform. The Private whipped out his binoculars to get a better look at it.

"By the Force," he let out under his breath. "It's the Jedi." There was a discharge of blasters from inside the ship, but Tanner called out that it was all clear.

Tano and Skywalker landed with R2 right behind them. The bug screeched something foul before going on its way. Tano held the Hutt child in her arms, visibly displeased with the task. Skywalker smiled as Cypher and Kix moved with Pawn to greet the Jedi. However, the smile quickly turned inquisitive. "Kix? Pawn? How did you get all the way over here?"

Kix pointed to the datapad on Pawn's belt. "That caretaker droid, sir? We scrapped all of the information it had. When we were overrun at the entrance, we decided to try to find its escape vehicle."

The General nodded as his apprentice placed the little Hutt on R2. She walked up, looked around, and practically exploded with, "You left Rex back at the courtyard? He's pinned down with only a few men!"

 _Courtyard? Was he taken prisoner?_

"He ordered the retreat," Pawn clarified, mentally counting the odds of Rex's survival. _If I know Rex, he'd want to save as many as he can_. _Practically suicide if reinforcements don't get there in time, but I'd do the same._ "If we move now, we can assist him with this ship, help clear the way for evac or ground reinforcements."

Skywalker nodded his head. "Exactly what I was thinking." As R2 went up the ship's ramp, the General turned to the resident medic. "Kix, take a look at Stinky. Ahsoka, why don't you join him while we get this ship up and running?"

"Yes, Master." Everyone entered the ship, the _Twilight_ , the name etched on its side.

X

"Engie, I think I know what I'm doing."

A scoff bellowed haughtily. "Do you know what Engie is short for, Pawn? For _Engineer_. I know this stuff better than you do, mate. It's red-white-red, not white-red-red."

"Really?" Pawn reached under Engie's arms and punched in the white-red-red code on the _Twilight's_ dashboard. The ship rumbled with life as the lights and controls lit up. Engie slowly rotated his head to see his brother with his arms crossed, smug.

"I hate you," Engie stated plainly as he rose from the co-pilot seat. "If you need me, I'll be making sure this piece of junk doesn't implode on us." He nodded to Skywalker, who was watching the clones' interaction from the pilot's seat. Pawn took the co-pilot's seat, intending to help get the ship airborne.

Once they were in the air, Pawn tried the comm link one more time. "Captain Rex, can hear us? Still need an assist?"

He finally answered. "Pawn? Where the hell have you been?" _Oh, sounds like he's still a little pissed at me._ "I'm with Coric's squad in the courtyard, but don't worry, General Kenobi's ground forces have regrouped with us. We're cleaning house now… Where are you?"

Skywalker responded. "He's with me, Rex, along with Ahsoka and a few other clones. We have the Hutt and a ship. You sure you don't need any more help?"

"Positive, sir. Did you run into Ventress? Kenobi ran back into the temple to look for you."

Skywalker frowned but quickly answered back, "Obi-Wan can handle her. If you're really fine, we're going to get this Hutt back home."

"Yes, sir. We'll see you when you get back." Rex cut the line, and Pawn caught a glimpse of him, a single spot of striped blue armor in the mob, through the side window as they flew over the battle.

All of a sudden, the shipstuttered midflight. As Skywalker swung the vehicle wide over a barrage of Separatists Vulture droids, a Republic starfighter only barely missed hitting the _Twilight_.

"Sir," Pawn said, "what's the code to get us radio contact with the cruiser? This is _not_ a regulated Republic ship and I don't want to get shot down by our own men."

"Good idea," Skywalker agreed as a Republic Star Destroyer came into view. "Everybody, strap yourselves in if you can," he hollered into the interior radio. "Give me a second," he said to Pawn.

After a few moments of dodging lasers, Skywalker finally managed to get a request to get a hangar bay door open for them. Unfortunately, they had three Seppie fighters on their tail. It took him some time, but Pawn finally found the gun controls and returned fire.

"Hang on!" Skywalker yelled. Pawn quickly realized that he did not put on his seat belt. Thus, when the General started flying upside down, Pawn fell onto the ceiling.

 _Ow, fierfek! Damn it, Pawn! This has happened before! Put on your damn seatbelt._

Once they were right side up, Skywalker grabbed the clone soldier and helped him up. "Come on, Pawn, you gotta get your head in the game."

 _You enjoy this too much. We have no idea how much of Torrent Company is down and you're enjoying this_.

But now was not the time to follow that train of thought. Pawn had to make sure he could at least live to board that train on another day. So, he went back to the gun controls and resumed firing as they went for the Republic cruiser's rear side hangar. Ultimately, however, the hangar entrance exploded in a fiery burst of flames.

"Well," Skywalker shouted as he pulled the _Twilight_ out of the ensuing smoke, "that changes our plans!"

Tano ran into the room. "Stinky's asleep now. How's –" She stopped dead as she watched the raging fire pass by.

"Looks like we're going to have to take this bucket of bolts all the way back to Tatooine ourselves."

Reluctantly, CT-4214 let out a sigh. _Rex, you better make sure you find any more stragglers in the monastery. We were lucky to find this ship. The others might not._ "I'll prep the hyperdrive, General."

"Thanks, Pawn."

X

CT-0612 direly wanted to go to sleep.

It was just fight after fight after fight after fight. That was all they were doing for the past few days. Training on Kamino was harsh, but you could fill an entire planet with the graves of all the clones that have died ever since the war began. First it was practically everyone in 0612's original squad. First one, then another, then Livewire… just about all of their brothers were following suit. At Geonosis, and Christophsis, and now Teth. Every new planet they come across, it's a massacre.

As CT-0612 sat within the confines of the _Twilight_ , he was half-tempted to simply curl up against himself. He wanted bury his heads in his arms and close his eyes, hide underneath his armor. The white plates were uncomfortable and hardly better than pieces of plastic plastered together, but at least they were something familiar out of all the _shabla_ around him.

Slick betrayed them. He betrayed all of his fellow clones, and all of their brothers, but maybe he had a point for doing it.

Just before the contemplative clone trooper let himself fall to his side onto the couch, someone shoved him awake.

"Cypher, you awake?"

It was Tanner. He was standing with a hunched back, looking expectantly from behind his visor. "Private, are you awake?"

"Y-Yes, sergeant."

"Good… We just got out of hyperspace, coming close to Tatooine now." If Tanner caught the stutter, he did not care a single bit. Instead, he nodded toward Perks and Engie sitting near the door to a storage room. Engie was busy at a control panel with Perks propping Engie's leg onto a stool. "I know Kix is busy with the Hutt, but could you go get him from the cockpit? I'm pretty sure Engie has something twisted somewhere, and Perks and I need to help him stabilize the deflector shields."

Cypher was hardly one to question orders. He muttered an affirmative and got to his feet. It was easier to do it this way, stiff and silent. Going on autopilot kept you distracted from all the stress and the thinking that would have otherwise made you go crazy.

CT-0612 was pretty sure CT-4214 was going through the same process, only in his own way. 4214 had spouted orders and took charge down in the monastery when it was technically Sergeant Tanner's responsibility to take command. That was what 4214's autopilot does; take command and keep everyone moving together to get the job done. He provided direction. 0612's autopilot followed along that direction, straight and to the point.

Cypher was thankful for that, but a little bit ashamed, too.

But he couldn't think like that. Not now. Cypher went back on autopilot, entering through the doorway and into the helm. With meticulous movement, he scanned the room. Kix was at one side; out of sight, out of mind, if you ignored the baby Hutt moaning in its sleep. General Skywalker sat in the pilot's seat, eyes forward to the desert planet through the window.

Pawn was on his backside, his upper body hidden amid the wirework within the control console. Skywalker's astromech droid was beside him. Commander Tano – Ahsoka, she was crouching next to Pawn, occasionally handing him tools.

"How's Jabba's son doing, Kix?" Skywalker asked aloud.

"Just needs rest, sir," Kix answered as he hovered over the child. He always had a soft spot for small lifeforms. "His fever's gone, so that's a good sign."

"Thank the Force." Pawn piped up from the console, his voice vaguely muffled. "What do you think would have happened if we brought the prodigal son to Jabba in a small, Hutt-let shaped body bag?"

"It was just a fever, Pawn," Kix sighed, clearly exasperated. Pawn must have been shooting out comments like that during the entire trip through hyperspace. "And this ship had some actual antibiotics. He wasn't gonna die and –"

"That's horrible!" That was Ahsoka. She looked… nettled. "How could you joke about the little guy dying?"

"Hey," Pawn called out haughtily, lifting his foot to poke at Ahsoka's leg, "you're the one who keeps calling him Stinky. Let me tell you this: when the little bastard grows up, he's going to be groomed into a life of vice and sin and crime and –"

"Relax, Pawn," General Skywalker said, simultaneously grabbing Ahsoka's shoulder so she wouldn't rise to her feet and retort a response. "And you, too, Ahsoka. We're all a little on edge." Once Ahsoka forced herself to relax and sit back down, her master retracted his hand. "Anyway, is there something you need, Cypher?"

All eyes turned to the clone awkwardly standing in the doorway. Pawn rolled out of the console and sat up to get a clear look of his brother. Even the baby and R2 twisted their heads, and all the attention was making Cypher weaker in the knees.

"Engie needs a once-over," Cypher went straight to the point. He traded a look with Kix. "Tanner wants you to check on him."

"On my way."

Cypher nodded at the medic. His next plan of action was to find a nice, flat surface to lay upon and try to put himself to sleep. However, as Kix walked pass him, he dumped the little Hutt into his arms. "Kix?"

"Just watch him. He's needs to stay upright."

The Hutt wasn't slimy, thank God. Unfortunately, the texture of his skin was as rough and hard as a rock. He was a lightweight, but he was moving his tiny arms and tiny body around, practically demanding Cypher to just drop him right then and there.

"Uhhh, do you need some help, big guy?" Ahsoka was watching the clone struggling with an endearing smile. She walked up to him and offered her arms. Wordlessly, Cypher let her take the child. She cuddled with the Hutt child for a moment, shaking him up and down and inciting a gurgling laugh out of the slimeball. Then she looked curiously back to Cypher. "So, it's Cypher, right?"

"That he is," Pawn agreed. He was on his feet and wiping his hands with a rag. "General Skywalker, if I may take a temporary leave of absence?" The Jedi waved a hand. "Commander Tano, if you could prove that all your talk of mechanical prowess wasn't all rubbish?" Pawn tossed the rag over her face. Ignoring her cry of indignation, Pawn left the cockpit and dragged Cypher with him.

The two made a stop in the middle of a hallway, somewhere near the heater. Its soft humming induced a feeling of familiarity within Cypher. His mind nearly drifted again, but Pawn snapped his fingers to get him sober.

"How you holding up, _Cyph'ika_?" Pawn asked. How sweet of him. In Mandalorian, _ad'ika_ translated as child, lad, darling, daughter, or son. Adding the _ika_ after the first syllable of someone's name expresses the speaker's affection for that person. _Cyph'ika_. Sometimes, it meant little brother. Other times, like now, it was a hand outstretched to Cypher, silently pleading for him to grab on and return the gesture.

"Tired," Cypher replied.

"Aren't we all."

Cypher wasn't going to pour his heart out, and neither was Pawn. It was neither the time nor the place. That is why both of them were on autopilot, because it was the only way to work and cope at the same time.

"I know that you know that you and I are not in the right mood to talk things out," Pawn went on. He opened up the standardized Grand Army Infantry backpack – wait, when did Pawn swipe that? Cypher really is out of it – and pulled out a bottle, a drink. "So, I have a proposition for you."

It had been years since Cypher had seen that brand insignia imprinted on the bottle, and once he recognized it, he flinched rigidly. "Where–Where and how?"

"Brought it with me when we first left for Geonosis. Been holding on to it ever since."

 _Kri'gee_ was a classic Mandalorian drink. Most clones enjoyed the sugary joys of chocolates and cakes, but in Cypher's infantile youth, he preferred the taste of his favorite bitter ale. That is, until their regiment's training sergeants banned the Null ARCs from putting alcoholic drinks into circulation among the white jobs.

Pawn removed his helmet. Cypher stared at a mirror image of his own face and hair. Despite the similarities, Cypher can see the fewer creases in Pawn's skin, and the eyes that can never fully close and shut away. "Want a swig, _Cyph'ika_?"

"But… all the things that Sergeant Sym and Sergeant Apma told us about –"

"I'm not talking about becoming addicts." Pawn put his back against the wall, leaning opposite to Cypher. "I've been taking… little slips… once every week, after Geonosis, and I'm still alive. The med-droids and Kix haven't found anything wrong with me. You should be fine, too."

"It's undisciplined."

"But sometimes, it helps you forget."

Cypher's heart skipped a beat. " _Mando'ad draar digu_. A Mandalorian never –"

"– never forgets. I know. Still." The bottle's cap was tossed into Cypher's hand. Pawn took one nip at the drink. You could hear the liquid come down into his throat and be swallowed. After, Pawn motioned of Cypher to grasp the bottle in his other hand. "No one can remember everything. Some things aren't worth remembering, like when you take a piss in the middle of the night. Other things happen too fast for you to catch the details, like a light show from a bombing run. Point is, even if you can't always remember everything, what counts is if you don't forget the things that are actually worth remembering."

 _What's worth remembering_. _That's what Slick must have been missing_. Pawn and Rex and Cypher and everyone else in the 501st Legion always remembered to always, _always_ stay loyal to their brothers. Slick lost that. He refused to remember the unspoken promise all clones made to one another, and he threw that promise right at their faces.

Cypher grabbed the offered bottle as he took off his helmet.

"You naughty boy you," Pawn teased.

 _I learned from the best._

Time flew right by Cypher after that. He had a few sips of the _Kri'gee_. Pawn stashed it back in his pack. They crash landed on Tatooine. General Skywalker split off to distract Count Dooku. Ahsoka and the clones were tasked to escort the Hutt-let to Jabba posthaste.

The drink really did help him forget the little stuff. Cypher forgot how the expansive sand dunes were much like those they roamed on Geonosis. He forgot how cold and traumatic the nighttime desert could be, and how the stars never looked the same from one planet's atmosphere to the other. Cypher counted Tatooine's stars as they made their way to Jabba's. He used to make names and constellations out of the stars, and that was a secret hobby he wanted to remember.

"Looks about another half mile," someone said. Cypher wasn't sure who. He just let his legs continue moving. "Not a light at the end of the tunnel, but a crime master's mansion in the middle of a valley." Never mind. It was Pawn, the cheeky cunt.

" _Kandosii_ ," a clone muttered. The tone identified itself as Perks. "I don't think I can stand being in the sand another second."

"Yes," Pawn responded, "sand. All this sand. We all hate sand, ever since Geonosis. Been the twenty-second time you've expressed your sand-hatred, Perks. Don't forget to beware the allure of the dark side."

"Please stop, Pawn."

"You first."

" _Kando_ –what?" That was Ahsoka. Hutt-baby squirmed from behind her back, making a sound that Cypher guessed was a chuckle.

And then Cypher's endless illusion of tranquility exploded, right in his face.

The sand in front of the group burst up into the air. Three humanoid droids rose from the scattered grit – MagnaGuards. Ahsoka had her lightsaber drawn faster before Cypher had raised his rifle. He and the clones opened fire. The droids activated their electro staffs, spots of purple electricity pulsating amongst the flurry of blaster bolts.

There wasn't much where they could retreat to. On their right was a towering mountain wall and on their left was a 15 meter drop off a cliff. All they had between them and the melee droids was the small expanse of sand, and those staffs were deflecting too many shots and getting _way_ too close for comfort.

A sharp shriek suddenly rattled the air. One of the droids got to Tanner. The Sergeant got too close and missed his shot. He screamed as his body convulsed with purple sparks, his rifle firing off wildly. The blaster shots and screams drowned out whatever orders Ahsoka tried to scream out. "Stay close," she might have said, but Cypher watched another clone fall to the ground. Wait, was that Kix? Did he – no, no, Kix was still standing. Kix, Cypher, and Pawn were all firing upon one of the MagnaGuards. Its arms flew off its body as the droid crumpled apart into a jumbled mess.

They got one. They killed one of them. Cypher reloaded and aimed for his next target. MagnaGuards were supposed to be half as tough as General Grievous, so if taking down one of them wasn't so hard, maybe Ahsoka and the clones had a chance.

No, no, that was a mistake. You're not supposed to think to yourself, "We have a chance." No, you think to yourself, "We are getting this done." First Cypher took to drinking _Kri'gee_ again, and now he's messing up the guidelines that have been hammered into his brain since childbirth. Sergeant Sym would be so disappointed.

Karma seemed to read off Cypher's thoughts and believed he should be punished. Things turned against their favor as Engie was attacked head-on by a MagnaGuard. The purple lightning danced across his upper body, and he was thrown off the cliff. Kix made a dive to catch him. R2 was kicked backwards and brought Kix with him down the mountain.

By the time Cypher regained his sense of survival, he felt his body thrown toward the cliff side. He tumbled against the rough, ragged rock face as he rolled down the hill. His visor was cluttered with sand grains, and the clone could swear that a crack formed down the middle of the T, though fatigued minds did tend to play tricks on the eye, so Cypher couldn't say even as his body slammed against the base of the sandy valley.

His muscles were aching with bruises. His ears were ringing a piercing, shrill ring that no mechanical machinery or non-lethal explosive device can replicate. Cypher had to smash his head against the floor to reboot his system. Coherent vision and hearing steadily returned. His body was still shaking, but Cypher managed to raise himself to his knees.

The stars persisted in brightening the dark of the night sky. Cypher made out R2, upside down with his head buried deep in the sandy soil. Kix with his medic-designating stripes was nearby, and also on his knees. Cypher blinked and realized Kix was kneeling over a body – Engie.

Cypher's first instinct was to assist Kix. Then there was another scream. Cypher looked up the cliff, seeing nothing but sputtering lights.

He snatched up his rifle and ran up one side of the cliff, hoping to get back up there before the light show came to an end.

Cypher dragged his body one final step to finally reach the top of the cliff. He spotted Ahsoka farther down the path, occupied with dueling one of the droids. The other MagnaGuard was – It was missing its lower body and lying in the sand face first. It reached for its staff that was nearly within arm's reach, but Pawn stood over the droid and unloaded his entire clip into its torso.

A sigh of relief would have been too kind for Cypher to savor. He didn't get the chance as Pawn fell forward suddenly onto the dead droid. Something was crawling over him, a flurry of limbs moving wildly. Cypher shook his head to alleviate any more dizziness and ran closer to his brother to get a better look in the night darkness.

Pawn's attacker happened to be the initial MagnaGuard they had scrapped up, only missing its arm and its head. The broken droid grappled Pawn with its legs in the effort to restrain the clone and choke him out. Cypher aimed, but his eyesight blurred. Pawn and the droid kept tossing and turning over the sand sporadically, and Cypher watched his own hands shaking his blaster. Lining up a good shot was impossible. He couldn't risk firing and ending up hitting his brother in the back.

With the butt of his rifle, Cypher tried to use his blaster like a club. A metallic leg deflected his first strike. His second halted as the same leg's foot grasped the blaster. At the same time, the droid's other leg locked its grip around Pawn's neck. Cypher kicked at the decapitated Guard. It throttled Cypher off his feet with his blaster. As Cypher tried to wipe sand off his visor, the tinnie was beating Pawn with the makeshift bludgeon.

As Cypher rolled in the dirt, trying to regain his bearings, one of his hands gripped something thick. He looked through grains of sand and his shaky vision to see the forgotten electro staff. Cypher tightened hold, letting the ends of the staff burst with energy. Turning around, Cypher raised the weapon and arched it over to skewer the MagnaGuard.

The pike went straight into the droid's abdominal area. The end of the staff stopped short right above Pawn, fortunately. The MagnaGuard convulsed as if it was having a seizure, releasing its grasp on the blaster and Pawn's neck. Cypher kicked the droid off, letting it spasm on until the purple lights died out.

Cypher let himself fall on his bottom, leaning forward and letting his hands rest in his lap. The sounds of Ahsoka's lightsaber had ceased, as did all the screaming. There was only the sound of heavy breathing that Cypher could here. He took that as a good sign that he could finally take a breather.

All signs confirmed that Pawn was alright. He lay in the sand, panting, and gave a thumbs-up in Cypher's direction. " _Vor entye_ ," he said. " _Vor entye_. Thanks for the _gaa'tayl_ , _Cyph'ika_. Damn near tore my throat out."

" _Vor_ –what?" That was Ahsoka again. Her MagnaGuard was also in pieces with the thin outline of smoke rising from where she sliced off its body parts. She jogged toward Pawn and Cypher with the baby Hutt in tow. "Never mind. Are you guys okay?"

"No," Pawn growled with a cough, feeling his throat. "Nearly _kriffing_ was put to sleep by these fancy zombie clankers. Hell, second time this week I was choked out. Where the hell is everyone else?"

Ahsoka was completely quiet for a moment. "Tanner and Perks are, uh, dead, and, uh..."

"Kix is alive," Cypher cut in, staring aimlessly at the sandy floor. Half of his leg was buried in it. "Down the cliff, he's looking over Engie. And R2's there."

When Cypher had spoken up, Pawn had slowly turned his head to look at him. You can hardly see a damn thing with clone trooper helmets on, but Cypher and Pawn have spent so much time together that they could tell almost instantly what they were feeling with just a look. The facial expression was only supplementary. Everything else, body language, tone of voice, gave away everything if they weren't paying attention to what they were doing.

"Looks like Skywalker's closing in on us," Pawn announced. Cypher could hear a speeder's engine roaring from behind him. Ahsoka seemed to perk up. Stinky hollered a babyish cry that could have meant anything. "Immediately after we've won the battle. Hallelujah."

Ahsoka had that nettled look again. Cypher ignored her as she ran past him. Instead, he was focused on Pawn. He couldn't tell if Pawn was looking at him or looking toward the Jedi. Pawn had stopped moving, so Cypher couldn't even tell if he was breathing anymore.

" _Ner vod_." Pawn was on the helmet comm. " _Cyph'ika_. You good? No extreme injuries?"

"I'm… good. But Engie – Engie and Kix –"

Something fell into Cypher's hand. It was the bottle of _Kri'gee_. Pawn raised himself to mirror Cypher's sitting position. "You want another sip?"

The bottle was about three-fourths full. The drink itself was an obsidian, black ale. Cypher wasn't sure how he could tell how much was left in the flask with the midnight gloom, but he watched it swish back and against the glass. "I miss them."

"Who?"

"You know. Livewire. Our old squad. Sergeant Sym. Everyone that's gone. I miss everyone."

A charmed chuckle was uttered by Pawn. "Yup. You and me and every other clone who's lost a brother, missing them. But, like I said, we can't forget."

 _No, we can't. Not ever_. Cypher stood up, reeling his arms around to stretch out his shoulders. He dropped the _Kri'gee_ back to Pawn, extending a hand to pull his brother up. "We should help Kix with Engie."

Pawn stared at Cypher again, with a sidelong look. He was trying to judge what Cypher was thinking of, how he was coping with everything that's happened so too quickly.

They held hands firmly, allowing Cypher to pull Pawn to eyelevel. Pawn still had his head tilted. Cypher kept his body straight and looked straight ahead.

"Are you really good, _Cyph'ika_?"

"I'll take a slip later. And… I'd like to look at your list. Of the names, and… yeah." Cypher nodded his head toward the cliff. "Later, though. We have a job to do now."

 _I won't forget. I promise_.


End file.
